ledwinka



m Q. .N f

March 5, 1929.

' H. LEDWINKA MOTOR VEHIQLE Filed April l2, 1926 Patented Mar.7 V5, i929.

EANS'LEDWNEA, OE KGPRVNICT, CZECHOSLQVAKA.

MOTOR VEHECLE.

Application tiled April i2, 1928, Serial No. OLSlO, and in (,'zeohoslovakia February l, 1925.

vThe present invention relates to motor vehicles having two or more pairs of driven rear wheels, which are driven a common driving shaft prolonged up to the last pair of wheels. The hitherto wu arrange ments of this kind were only apolicable 'to motor vehicles provided with frames and the driving of the wheel axles causedk consider m ble losses of power, inasmuch as the parts of the common driving shaft correspond to each wheel axle were eonneet-ed another by means of joints. of the invention to eliminate these of the hitherto known constructions.

According to the invention it is remi-ered possible to employ two or more pairs' of driven rear wheels even on 'motor vehicles having no frames by the rse 'of a medial with one Ait is the object supporting member, an el and eco-- nomlcal drive being` obt d For this driven wheels and a med ber are employed. the s ul member be' ur lrolonged as a rigid body tor 'the reeeption of the'further pair of wheels or further pairs of wheels and carrying in the pro4 longed part the jointless prolongation of driving shaft which is arranged in know manner in said supporting member. This arrangement is rendered possible by the use of swivelling half-axles which render unnecessary the usual rotatable connection of the two differential or lilre gear boxes which lie behind one another, so that the part lying between these gear boxes can also be constructed as a rigid body.

In accordance further with the invention both the prolongation of the supporting member and that of the driving shaft termin nate in a coupling joint *ith coaxial axes of rotation, whereby the connection of a trailer with driven wheel axles' is rendered possible under the most favourable con-.1litions l'soth in respect of economicai drive and light wear on the shaft lioint. One eonstructional form accordi n3 to the invention .is illustrated diagrammatieally :in the accompanying drawing. in whiei:

Fig. l shows a motor vehicle with a trailer side elevation.

Fig. 2 shows the underneath framework of the vehicle in plan.

Fig. 3 shows a section on the line lll-lll of Fig. 2 and Fig. l shows an alternative construction for the coupling joint between the vehicle and the trailer.

Fig. o shows in detail the type of lswivelhalf-axles used with this invention.

i l and 2 the rear part of the Y been omitted as it does not form 'of the invention and may be conl motor vehicle s provided in known manner with a mefzfhal longitud' lly arranged supporting'member l, within which a driving shaft 2 driven by the motor 3 runs. To the supporting;` body l are connected holl w ,swivelling or o; illating half axles t earning the running wheels 5. which are, driven by the shaft il through the medium of a transmisiion gear 6 or at.iti'e1'ential geur and shafts T. A'.rceording to the invention the driving shaft 2 and they supporting member lY are prolonged beyond the pair of wheels 5 (the prolongation being effected in thel fase of the supporting member by means of *he part l0 rigidly att-ached to it) in such a manner that a further pair of running wheels may be connected to the part l0.

l wheels being mounted on ,swivelling or oscillating half axles l0 and being driven the medium C {.iiierential gear and shafts TO. Springs tl pi totally mounted on pins ll on the frame 9 are arranged so to on tue axles 4:. ll0 of the two pairs of wheels 57 50. This arrangement of two longitudinally paced axles with driven wheels and frame 9 constitutes in effect a complete 'truck or bogie for the vehicle. u

A. further prolongation of the shaft 2 and the supporting member l. 10 may be provided for the attachment of further pairs of driven or, if desired, of non-driven halfaxles.

According to a further development of the invention the shaft 2 terminates in a coupling joint 12 and the supporting member l0 terminates in one half of a ball joint. 13 arranged coneentrically with the coupling ioint l2 for the purpose of connecting the shaft 14: and th supporting member 15 of a trailer. the pairs of wheels 16., 160 of which are also driven by the prolonged shaft 14 and are connected by their swivelling halfatles Il, llt) to the prolonged supporting inember l5.

n place of a trailer a bogie may be em- (tra ployed, which has its supporting member connected 1n a snmlar manner to the supporting member l, 10 of the motor vehicle and driven by the prolonged shaft 2 of the latter. Either the trailer or the bogie may be provided with two or more pairs of driven swivelling half-aides.

For the connection of a bogie or a trailer either a coupling joint l2, 13 (Fig. l) or two coupling joints constructed in similar manner and arranged one behind the other (Fig. 4) may be used.

I claim:

l. ln a motor vehicle of the type having a plurality of longitudinally spaced driving wheels, comprising in combination, a continuous driving shaft common to all the driven wheels of the vehicle and mounted in a rigid continuous supporting member which comprises the frame of the vehicle, oscillating half-aXles attached to said supporting member, each half-axle bearing a driven wheel of the vehicle, and gears for directly driving the half-axles by the common shaft.

2. In a motor vehicle of the type having a plurality of longitudinally spaced rear driving wheels, comprising in combination, a continuous driving shaft common to all the driven wheels of the vehicle and mounted in a rigid continuous medial supporting member which forms the frame of the vehicle, oscillating half-axles attached to said medial .supporting member, each half-axle bearing a driven wheel of the vehicle, and gears for direct-ly driving the half-axles by the common shaft.

3. In a motor vehicle of the type having a plurality of driving axles, in combination, an engine easing, a driving shaft housing, and a truck for supporting a plurality of lon itudinally spaced driving wheels, said casing, housing and truck being rigidly connected to constitute the vehicle frame, a

continuous driving shaft extending through and longitudinally of said vehicle frame, a I

plurality of half-axles pivotally supported upon said vehicle frame for independent motion, and gearing directly connecting each of aid half-axles with said driving shaft.

el. In a motor vehicle having two or more pairs of driven rear wheels and a common prolonged driving shaft for driving said wheels: a medial supporting member' prolonged as a rigid body behind the lirst pair of wheels, a further pair or further pairs of wheels, arranged behind the lirst pair of wheels, each wheel arranged on a svivelling or oscillating half-axle attached to the rigid body of the medial supporting member, a jointless prolongation of the driving shaft mounted in the rigid body of the medial supjjiorting member and gears for transmitting the drive from the driving shaft to the wheels, a coupling joint terminating the common driving shaft and a coupling joint terminating the medial supporting member', the axes of rotation of both coupling joints being ifo-axial with each other, a bogie or trailer, a medial supporting member on said bogie or trailer, two or more pairs of oscillating or swivelling half-axles bearing wheels, arranged one pair behind the other and attached to said medial supporting member, gear for driving the wheels by the driving shaft mounted in said supporting member, a coupling joint terminating the medial supporting member of the bogie or trailer to coact with the coupling jointof the supporting member of the motor vehicle and a coupling joint terminating the driving shaft of the bogie or trailer to coact with the coupling joint of the driving shaft of the motor vehicle.

HANS LEDWINKA, 

